Expectations
by averagehikari
Summary: Family life wasn't what Dean was expecting to get, especially not with Cas. More chapters to follow probably , rating may go up.


Kids was not really what Dean expected. Well, it was, and it wasn't. Family life had all the diapers and spit up and falling asleep on the couch that everyone expects, but it was more something he never expected to have. Sort of. Lisa and Ben had come close but… well, it sort of ended in catastrophe. So one could forgive Dean for thinking he would be a hunter until he died. Until… Well, he hadn't blamed Sam when he settled down. There were no fresh apocalypse on the horizon and he got all friendly with some girl in a city they were passing through and, really, Dean couldn't bare to deny Sam one last chance at his own apple-pie life.

But Dean was planning to hunt to the bitter end, so he sort of… detached himself from Sam's happy little life and headed back out onto the road. Which was fine. It was bitterly lonely and the job was a lot harder without Sam or Bobby but… it was fine. Except for that one name, always nagging at the back of Dean's mind. Cas. It was a lot harder without Cas. But he was probably back in heaven, right? Or dead. Or… well, it wasn't really any of Dean's business anyways. It seemed to Dean that the thing Cas had found so 'profound' about Dean was his personal ideals of freedom, not his actual 'person'. At any rate, he didn't show up to comment.

Until of course, he did show up. He showed up out of nowhere, as always. So they hunted… at first. But before long, there were nights when Cas stuck around, and they would drink and talk and… Cas would run his fingers through his messy dark hair and sigh with the weight of the world on his shoulders and all that Dean wanted was to gather him up in his arms and just hold him so that he would never want to zap off to heaven again. But he didn't because that's not what dudes do. Right?

"They're different down here." Cas remarked. They were out in the grass, next to the impala, Cas's trenchcoat tossed on the hood and his tie loose and top buttons undone. They were staring up at the sky, sharing a bottle of jack between them like rebellious teenagers.

"What are different?" The side of Cas's mouth turned up a little, in a minute smile. Dean took a swig from the bottle.

"The stars. I like them better from outside the city." Dean grinned.

"S'one of the perks of the job." Dean would generally look back at the stars by now, but he found himself… mesmerised, so to speak, by the skin showing where Cas's shirt was undone. And the curve of his neck… Oh god. And before he knew it, he had leaned too close for dude comfort and just as he was panicking, about to break away and gruffly laugh it off, Castiel had pressed his lips lightly against Dean's.

That was the first kiss, of many more kisses to come. And… not-kisses… Ahem. Cas wasn't always there. They didn't settle down like Sam and his girl. They just… took away the personal space rule. Cas showed up from time to time, and when he did, they were together. So when Dean slumped onto the bed after a day of hunting and the rustle of wings met his ears, he sat up excitedly. And he really wasn't expecting the sight that met his eyes.

"Dean. I require your assistance." What. No, seriously, what? Cas was holding, at arms length and with a look of mildly concealed terror, a baby, no more than a month old.

"What the hell Cas? Where did you get this? You know you can't just take these right?" Castiel rolled his eyes, a new trick of his.

"Of course not Dean. Its parents were killed. By a truck. Being driven by a spirit. I arrived too late." Well that was… concise. Dean frowned, still…

"Doesn't it have relatives?" Cas looked away, some new expression twisting his features.

"It has an uncle." Dean sighed.

"Then—" Cas cut him off.

"No. He is not a good man. I took the liberty of looking into his life. He abused several women that he had relationships with." Dean put a hand to his temple. The baby started crying. He took it from Cas, and rocked it in his arms. He hadn't held a baby since… the shifter baby. That was a long time ago by now. Oh. And he'd forgotten how comfortable holding babies could be.

"So… I guess you should drop this little guy off at social services or something?" Castiel frowned.

"No…" Dean sighed with exasperation.

"What do you want me to do with it Cas?" Castiel paused, like he was sizing Dean up. It felt like the way he had looked at Dean back in that barn so, so long ago.

"Raise him. Be a parent." Dean balked, about to tell Cas that he was crazy. "With me." Cas finished, and Dean's words died on his lips. He froze, his arms no longer rocking the child, who began to cry, startling Dean's brain back to life.

"What are you saying Cas?" Castiel looked up at the ceiling.

"You don't have to hunt forever Dean. We can make this work. Family." Dean shook his head.

"No. I tried, and I failed. I'm never getting out." Cas grabbed Dean by the shoulders, pulling him close.

"You haven't tried with an angel."

So there it was. And it wasn't what Dean was expecting. But… it did work. It was crazy, and it was tiring, but it worked. They named the baby (who was a boy) Robert, like Bobby, but they called him Robbie for short. They rented out an apartment, and painted a nursery, and while it wasn't perfect- Cas still had to go out and smite things from time to time- it was… family. And he and Cas were in it together. It was solid. But it hadn't felt solid at the start. It had felt shake and wobbly and ephemeral. But little things made it real.

Robbie was nearing one year old when it happened. Dean was doing the dishes and Cas was putting Robbie to sleep. Dean had finished up quickly, and crept up to the room to see if Cas wanted any help. But he was met with… something a little unexpected. Cas was sitting with Robbie in his lap, and a picture book, which Dean was unaware they even owned any of, propped open on his lap, and oh god…

"Darren the Duck was very sad. I find this to be a little nonsensical, Robbie. Ducks have a much slimmer range of emotion." Oh what Dean would give for a camera right now. "Darren was sad because his friends, Fred Fox and Bob Bear… again, Robbie, this is very inaccurate. Bears, foxes and ducks do not form symbiotic relationships. I have to question this writer's integrity, and research skill." Robbie giggled, and Dean stifled a laugh of his own. "Darren… now the duck is making a cake. Robbie, I will find you a better book tomorrow, this one is unacceptable." Dean snorted out in the hallway, finally alerting Cas to his presence. Or maybe he knew all along.

"Cas. You don't really have to take picture books so literally, you know." Castiel frowned, rocking Robbie slightly.

"They are misleading, and a poor source of education." Dean grinned.

"He's one, Cas, it just helps him learn words faster." Cas settled Robbie into the crib, and he whimpered slightly, but didn't cry. That's right, Dean said internally. You gotta be a man about it. Then Castiel kissed his cheek and he turned into melted butter inside.

"Better books." Cas said, with a smile.

It was solid. Family.


End file.
